FORTIN-Social Ties and Settlement Processes

Social ties and settlement processes: French and North African migrants in Montreal Fortin, Sylvie. Canadian Ethnic Studies. Calgary: 2002. Vol. 34, Iss. 3; pg. 76 Abstract (Summary) Following a hundred year period during which immigration from England, Ireland, and Scotland was favoured, the second half of the twentieth century saw diversification of the sources of immigration in Quebec, as was the case in the rest of Canada(5) (see [Piche], this issue). In 1978, the Couture-Cullen Agreement gave Quebec the right to influence the volume and composition of immigration within its territorial boundaries (MRCI 2000). By this accord, Quebec could shape immigration in relation to its language policies and at the same time meet the labour and demographic needs caused by a decline in the birth rate.(6) The Charter of the French Language (Bill 101), adopted in 1977, embodied a firm political desire to maintain and promote French as the primary language in Quebec, particulary through the obligatory enrollment of immigrant children in the French school system.(7) Since 1990, Francophone immigration to Quebec has been promoted: "The desire to conserve Quebec society's cultural identity and to ensure the persistence of the French fact is one of Quebec's major development issues" (MRCI 2000:12).(8) With 7.5 million inhabitants, contemporary Quebec is "a sort of Francophone majority enclave in a North American universe with a population of more than 260 million" ([B. Gagne] 1995:1).(9) Ethnic and national categories are not only empirically vague, but also constantly changing. Accessing informants' ethnic origins (French, Algerian, etc.) was complicated; trying to figure out the ethnic origins of those with whom they have social links presented yet another challenge. Informants alternate constantly between social and administrative categories when describing their "friends," "family," and acquaintances. And even then, within social categories, there is a great deal of variation. When we say "he is Italian," "she is French," or "she is Moroccan," to what are we referring? Place of birth? Place of origin? What about mixed origins? Are they sons and daughters of immigrants or are they immigrants themselves? Categories are constantly changing. The identification process ([Gallissot] 2000) takes place within a social relationship. Choices are made, and the multiple referents from which one can choose identities (for oneself or others) are but a mirror of the flexible and diverse possibilities of each of our interlocutors (Gallissot 1987). Furthermore, these administrative and social categories are even more vague when considered from a migration perspective, that is, from the perspective of migration and mobility. Our way of considering migrants and their social links is often coloured by the migration-integration-settlement paradigm. Yet as the French anthropologist Tarrius (2001; 2000) argues, mobility brings on a different set of referents which link social and geographical places. The pre- and post-migration dichotomy is of limited relevance, for social links cross borders and have no definititive time frame. And even those with whom migrants have social links are themselves on the move, whether concretely or in imagination (including life projects that become plausible), via the mobility of family members, friends, and acquaintances. This study has been most revealing in this regard, inasmuch as a number of difficulties were encountered in accessing who is who in the informants' social environments. To return to "symbolic inclusion" as a condition of belonging, a distinction should be made between the social dimensions of symbolic inclusion and the way in which people are accorded recognition and validation in their life surroundings. This last can be considered as much a question of individual economic and social insertion as of macrosocietal factors. French professionals like the interviewees in this study are considered highly desirable migrants by the government of Quebec, and as already mentioned, French cultural products enjoy considerable prestige in Montreal as is the case elsewhere. Moreover, this study suggests that attention must be paid to the cultural dimensions of symbolic inclusion. The "cultural proximity" between French people and Quebecois of French- Canadian origin is not as "natural" as one might imagine. Even though the sharing of a common language considerably eases the settlement process, the apparent linguistic proximity is misleading. As we have seen, despite great linguistic similarity, accent becomes a boundary marker and often a criterion of exclusion. Indeed, there is reason to question the very idea of "cultural proximity" along with its corollary, "cultural distance," both of which suggest the existence of homogeneous sociocultural entities defined by particular "cultural traits" ([De Rudder] 1994; Simon 1999; Bare 2000). » Jump to indexing (document details) Full Text (10706 words) Copyright Canadian Ethnic Studies Association 2002 This study addresses issues related to belonging and to social organization in the context of migration. How do individuals connect in a new social environment? How are spaces of sociability created? Who takes part in these different environments? These questions are a way of looking at the settlement process while taking into account its economic, social, and symbolic dimensions (Taboada-Leonetti 1994). Are these dimensions reflected in the trajectories of "good migrants"(1) (that is, migrants from France) in Montreal who display, according to Canada and Quebec's immigrant selection criteria, optimal characteristics (i.e., age, education, language skills, socio- economic status)? Do they become full participants in the host society? Do they identify with the expression Quebecois? In order to answer these questions, the focus is on social ties built or maintained by migrants from France in Montreal. Which individuals are considered close and which peripheral? Do patterns of sociability reflect in any way the migrant's sense of belonging to the host society? Studying these patterns is a useful approach to understanding cultural and social capital (Bourdieu 1994, 1986; Portes 1995) and how such capital is used, mechanisms of social inclusion and exclusion, and how social relations develop between migrants within their own national group, between migrants of different origins, and between migrants and non-migrants (see also LeBlanc, this issue). History plays an important role here since the construction of social links within a given society and the social receptivity (Piche 2001) of that same society are partly the result of past history between sending and receiving countries. From this perspective, my argument draws on historical aspects of the actual relationship between the two states, on middle-level structures (social ties and networks), and on individual strategies of belonging adopted by migrants from France of French origin and of Algerian, Moroccan, or Tunisian origin. The following pages will briefly present the study and discuss migratory movements from France to Quebec. This is followed by a look at the general profile of the migrants under study. Identity and social belonging are discussed in relation to Canadian and French citizenship, and how sentiments are evoked by entities such as Montreal or Canada, and how they are related to settlement conditions and to the sense of belonging vis-a-vis the point of departure and other places. Migratory trajectories, reasons for emigration, and multiple belonging are all part of the same dynamic. Examining how migrants' social ties are patterned according to the ethnic or national origin of those in their personal networks reveals the lack of congruence between these patterns and the feelings of belonging to the society of residence. Particular attention is paid to the ambiguous identification process involved when informants assign ethnic status to individuals and define social categories in ethnic terms. The study also focusses on accent as a marker and how it is sometimes a criterion of inclusion, while at other times it is invoked as a means of exclusion. In Quebec, language is of particular importance and involves a number of issues, such as the demographic (and political) weight of Francophones in Canada and the Quebec national project, as well as the meaning of citizenship in Quebec. Moreover, the relationship to the French language and the perception of accent are part of a dynamic in which the colonial past (France-Quebec) still colours the contemporary relationship of French migrants with Quebec society. Lastly, it will be seen that having access to material, social, and even symbolic resources of the settlement environment does not prevent the mobilization of "other" identities among "good immigrants." THE STUDY IN CONTEXT The empirical data for this field research was collected over a two-year period in Montreal (1999- 2001). Of the many dozens of French migrants contacted, multiple focussed interviews and observations were conducted with sixteen key informants (eight women and eight men). All arrived in Canada from France; eight being born in France of French descent and eight of North African origin (i.e. born in France or in the Maghreb of Tunisian, Algerian, or Moroccan parents). Data pertaining to work life, leisure, religion, family, friendships, and acquaintances were collected, and for each of these domains, social links were documented. Who did these migrants link up with? Who did they meet through

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